Duncan
& Fraser Limited "Adelaide's Premier Coach Builder"

Photo
courtesy RAA

This is the story of two
men sharing a vision that could only be a dream in
their native Scotland. In 1865 James Duncan &
James Fraser formed a partnership establishing the
firm of Duncan & Fraser in Adelaide, South
Australia. From humble beginnings the partnership
grew to be one of Australia's most influential
manufacturers. Duncan & Fraser embraced not
only carriage & buggy building, but also made
train carriages & trams. In 1903 they embraced
the "Horseless Carriage" and introduced the famous
"Curved Dash" Oldsmobile automobile to Adelaide.
Later they would import Henry Ford's famous Model
'T' in vast numbers for the South Australian
motoring public before their untimely closure in
1927.

On this web site we will try & follow the
journey as Duncan & Fraser and Adelaide emerge
from the reliance on horses to the challenges of a
new era, the age of the motor car...

Links

1903-1909
Early Ford Registry A site dedicated to
the preservation of all of the pre-Highland
Park Fords. Their forum and photos are free to
view and well worth a visit.

The
"Lewis" Project Another famous Adelaide
company around this time was Vivian Lewis that
made bicycles, motor cycles and imported early
cars in great numbers. Please visit to find out
more. You won't be disappointed!

While this web site is under
construction you can read about the journey that
Duncan & Fraser embarked upon through this
extraordinary part of Adelaide's history. "Duncan
& Fraser Ltd. - Legacies Left Untold" by David
Chantrell is a private publication of 500 books of
around 280 pages finely illustrated with 250
photographs, many of which have come from the
Duncan family albums and have never been published
before.

"Legacies Left Untold" was
available in both a soft and hard cover versions
and has been sold out since July 2011.
I receive numerous enquires every month, so if you
have a copy and wish to sell it back to me please
contact me below.

Do you have any
information, pictures, stories or ephemera
about Duncan & Fraser or Duncan Motors?
Did you have a relative that worked for them?
If so I would love to hear from you, so please
do not hesitate to contact
David Chantrell.